Literature Response Unit

Week #1. What is fiction? What is the message of the poem? Ho does the author convey his message?

Vocabulary: fiction, literature, quote, interpret, patience, fortitude, character traits, convey, symbolism, repetition, stanza, synonym.

Quotes: "Literature is the question minus the answer."
            "Fiction is the truth inside a lie."

Readings: Aesop "The Tortoise and the Hare"
           Berton Braley "A Little further"
           Salman Javid "The Journey"
           Rudyard Kipling "If"

Homework: find either a definition or a quote on fiction and/or literature.  Explain how the poet conveys the message that people are adventurous and curious.

Weeks 2-4. What is (plot, characterization, setting, protagonist)?

Vocabulary: drama, play, characters, dialogue, action, pity, language, deaf, mute.

Quotes: "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved"

"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world." 

Readings:  Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson
The Story of My Life, an autobiography of Helen Keller
 
Week 5. - What is a theme?

Vocabulary: theme, controlling idea, unifying message

Readings: Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson
The Story of My Life, an autobiography of Helen Keller

Happy Thanksgiving!

Read & listen to an essay on Thansgiving

Expository Essay Unit

Expository Speech Sample
In preparation for your speech you can use the following suggestions (from http://www.best-speech-topics.com)
1. Expository speeches are speeches that inform audiences about an idea or a process.  You would help your audience to either understand the process or actually perform the process.

2. The second category of expository speeches encompass those that discuss a past or current events. In this type of speech, you would offer audience members a clear idea of the main circumstances that occurred during the event you are speaking about.

3. The final category of speech topics is the definition speech topic. This speech could be about anything that is either tangible, alive or visible.


With any of these categories, you must decide how to organize the details of your speech. For some of the categories, a chronological order might work best. For others, you may need to work through the details in emotional order. Still, with other expository speech topics, choosing to show the details in terms of a spatial order might be your perfect option.

Post your work online using Googledocs. 

Expository Essay Topics.

Persuasive Essay Topics

• Do Video games promote violence among children?
• Why should cell phones be allowed / not allowed in schools?
• Should the results of exam be used to label students as intelligent, average and below average?
• Should animals be kept in Zoos?
• Should children be sent to boarding schools?
• Should uniforms be made compulsory in schools?
• Is it all right to hold parents responsible for the actions of their children?
• Single parenting – Is it good or bad for children?
• Recycling : How will it help our future?
• Is education important?
• Isn't Health Insurance the Right of all Americans?
• Nuclear Proliferation: Will Development of Nuclear Weapons Fuel a Third World War?
• Is Death Penalty Inhuman?
• Euthanasia: The Right to Die?
• Some Thoughts About Human Cloning.
• Pros and Cons of Adoption.
• The Grim Reality of Climate Change.
• Use of Mobile Phones in Schools.
• Should an Extra Language be Made Mandatory in Schools
• Are Websites like Facebook or MySpace Substituting Face-to-Face Social Interaction
• Homework Should be Banned
• Television is a Bad Influence
• Pros and Cons of Coeducation Schools
• Importance of Finding a Career
• Is There a More Effective Punishment than Grounding
• Should Schools Make Uniforms Compulsory?
• The Cons and Cons of Junk Food. ('Cons' repeated twice for effect.)
• Sex Education in Schools
• Teen Pregnancy
• Best TV Shows for High School Students.

Use our outline to plan your essay
Revision Checklist 
Fact vs. Opinion

Emergency Grammar Review

Hi, kids,

This is our post-quiz review of the questions a lot of people got wrong.  Please, take your time to review the links and the Power Point.  You may want to share this with parents, siblings, and friends.  A lot of people make mistakes with there/their/they're.


Quick Overview
Take the online Quiz
View the lesson on Possessive Pronouns here
There was or were

Poetry

While You Read - Guided Reading Questions - answer the following questions:
1. What is a prodigy and why does the mother want the main character to become one?

2. How does the mother prepare her daughter for fame?

3. What talents does the girl have?

4. Why does she start the piano lessons and how is the mother going to pay for them?

5. Describe the piano teacher.

6. What do Auntie Lindo and Jing-Mei's mother have in common?

7. In your own words, relate the events of the recital.

8. What does the author mean when she says, "I didn't have to do what my mother said anymore... This wasn't China"? page 97

9. What words does the author use to describe her mother's disappointment in her?

10. Why does Jing-mei come back to play the piano after her mother's death?

After Your Read - research online about the topics below. Find an article and a picture. Next to the picture provide a caption (5-6 sentences) that summarizes each article. Cite your sources properly.

The Ed Sullivan show
Beethoven
Schumann
the Japanese invasion of China.

Before You Read - Personal Narrative -  Think about the expectations your parent/guardian has for you. What do they think of your talents? How are you living up to the expectations? Do you have your own plans? Record your thoughts as a journal entry in a separate post.

Information Essay and Class Presentation.
We are reading a story about one parent's dream of making her daughter into a child prodigy.  Research the topic and pick a boy or a girl whose talents brought them fame or fortune.  Click here for a suggested list of children with exceptional abilities.
You may want to look into these kids' profiles

Coming soon ... task & guidelines